From navigation in unfamiliar environments to career planning, people typically first sample information before committing to a plan. However, most studies find that people adopt myopic strategies when sampling information. Here we challenge those findings by investigating whether contingency planning is a driver of information sampling. To this aim, we developed a novel navigation task that is a shortest path finding problem under uncertainty of bridge closures. Participants (n = 109) were allowed to sample information on bridge statuses prior to committing to a path. We developed a computational model in which the agent samples information based on the cost of switching to a contingency plan. We find that this model fits human behavior well and is qualitatively similar to the approximated optimal solution. Together, this suggests that humans use contingency planning as a driver of information sampling.

This study aimed to characterize the developmental trajectories of different cognitive component processes underlying planning decisions. Participants (ages 8-25 years) completed a planning task called Four-in-a-row. We used computational modeling to distinguish between three cognitive component processes of planning: planning depth, heuristic quality, and attentional oversights, each of which three contributed to better playing strength, but differed in their developmental trajectories. Specifically, from early to mid-adolescence, heuristic quality rapidly improved and contributed to better playing strength. From mid to late-adolescence, planning depth increased and supported better playing strength. Fewer attentional oversights were associated with better playing strength and this relation did not show age differences. Together, these results reveal sequential development of the cognitive component processes underlying planning, with early refinement of heuristic strategies, and gradual increases into young adulthood in the number of considered future actions, states, and outcomes. These findings provide a more complete account of the development of planning and its component processes.

Navigating social situations is complex due to others' hidden intentions and evolving strategies, requiring learning from past experiences. Anxiety complicates adaptation to uncertainty, especially in non-social settings. However, research on the anxiety's impact on learning within social uncertainty remains scarce. In a preregistered study (N = 190), we investigated whether individuals with higher trait anxiety struggled to adjust learning rates in a social context with stable or volatile outcomes utilizing various learning models (e.g., additive, multiplicative, betrayal). Participants engaged in a modified trust game with stable and volatile players, alongside a non-social task with slot machines. Participants showed higher learning rates in social than non-social contexts, with notably elevated social learning rates in individuals with heightened fear of negative evaluation (FNE)—a crucial trait linked to anxiety, especially social anxiety. This suggests individuals with increased FNE might be more sensitive to learning under social uncertainty.